August 2013, Jonglei State, South Sudan: Families have their fingers dipped in ink to help track registrations so that aid workers know who has been registered. This helps ensure that the right amount of food and other assistance is provided to the people who need it most. So far, about 66,000 people have been registered as affected by recent hostilities in Pibor County. Credit: IOM

Aid agencies have launched a multi-year humanitarian appeal to help communities affected by hostilities, displacement, food insecurity, poverty and natural disasters in South Sudan, the youngest and one of the poorest countries in the world.

The three-year plan, which seeks $1.1 billion for projects in 2014, focuses on three main objectives: responding to emergencies, building community resilience, and strengthening the capacity of national and local authorities to help families cope better with future crises. The funding will go to nearly 130 aid organizations to help over 3 million people.

“That is about $355 per person in 2014,” said Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer. “It is an extremely worthwhile investment to save lives and create opportunities for a better future.”

“In 2014, we plan to give 2.9 million people better access to clean water, reach 1 million people with livelihood support and get 70 per cent of the children affected by crisis back into schools.”

Nearly 1 million South Sudanese are severely food insecure and over 180,000 people have been displaced by hostilities this year alone. In the eastern state of Jonglei, people continue to face insecurity due to inter-communal violence and more recently, some 270,000 people have been displaced by seasonal floods.

Despite the challenges, some improvements have been reported in 2013. The arrival of Sudanese refugees from Blue Nile and South Kordofan states has slowed, and severe food insecurity has decreased by 6 per cent this year.

The appeal links humanitarian action to the broader framework of the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, a global initiative aimed to help disaster-prone countries towards resilience and development.

“While our appeal focuses largely on principled humanitarian action to save lives, including a link to the New Deal is especially important to speed up South Sudan’s journey to recovery, and to ensure that every aid dollar spent here has a lasting impact,” explained Mr. Lanzer.

“For example, we are hoping to reach 1.3 million people with food aid in 2014 and at the same time, we are also working to expand agriculture so that people can feed themselves.”